(The Center Square) – Rivalry tradition having been buried into television property rights of its league, the University of North Carolina System’s flagship and the largest institution in the system have created the inaugural Tobacco Road Classic on Dec. 15 in Greensboro.
Carolina and N.C. State, a men’s college basketball rivalry of former national champions dating to 1919 with arenas today a mere 22 miles apart in the Triangle, were reduced to one game last year in the now 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference. At the 1953 inception, each was a charter member of the seven-member ACC and for much of their histories have played twice in league play.
This game will be a nonconference tussle.
The Classic, sponsored by Thomasville-headquartered Old Dominion Freight Line, keeps the storied arena in Tournament Town – First Horizon Coliseum is the former Greensboro Coliseum – alive with college basketball memories of the November and December gatherings for the Big Four Tournament from 1970-71 to 1980-81. A revival of the tournament is regularly on the minds of organizers, though difficult to achieve, a spokesman for the event told The Center Square.
“UNC-N.C. State is one of the great rivalries in college basketball, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Greensboro,” Scott Johnson, general manager of First Horizon Coliseum, told The Center Square in an email. “The Tobacco Road Classic gives fans the opportunity to experience this historic matchup in a neutral-site setting, and we’re grateful to the universities, athletic directors and coaches for making this game possible. We’re proud to welcome these two legendary programs back to Greensboro and add another chapter to this rivalry and the history of First Horizon Coliseum.”
Carolina and N.C. State played 14 times in the Greensboro Coliseum from 1967 to 1998, eight in the Big Four Tournament and six in the ACC Tournament. Duke and Wake Forest were other participants in the Big Four.
Wake Forest won four of the Big Four crowns, N.C. State three, and Carolina and Duke two each.
“This is exactly the type of college basketball matchup that has helped make Greensboro ‘Tournament Town,’” said Richard Beard, president of the Greensboro Sports Foundation. “The ACC and college basketball have been part of the fabric of this community for generations, and Greensboro has a deep appreciation for the traditions and rivalries that make this sport so special. Having UNC and N.C. State meet here in the regular season for the first time in more than four decades is a tremendous opportunity for fans and a great addition to Greensboro’s basketball legacy.”
Carolina tied for fourth in the ACC last year and was 24-9, losing in the first round of the South Region to Virginia Commonwealth. N.C. State tied for seventh in the ACC and was 20-14, losing in the NCAA First Four to Texas.
In the NCAA Tournament, national championships have been won by Carolina in 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005 and 2009, and by N.C. State in 1974 and 1983.
A spokesman for the event confirmed no tax dollars are directly tied to the Tobacco Road Classic.
